Uprising (Gateway Series Book 3) Read online

  Uprising

  Gateway Series Book 3

  Brian Dorsey

  Copyright © 2016 by Brian Dorsey

  www.briandorseybooks.com

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, events, or places is coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission from the author.

  Chapter 1

  Muffled voices and shapeless forms pervaded Paladin Emily Martin’s thoughts as she struggled for consciousness. Coming out of her haze, she strained to open her eyes against the light in the room.

  “She’s moving,” she heard a woman’s voice declare. “Get the doctor.”

  Martin’s eyes opened and closed again against the brightness of the overhead light above her bed.

  Then the pain hit as a lightning bolt of agony shot through her left arm and into her spine, causing her to moan.

  “Can you hear me, Paladin?”

  Martin opened her eyes again, focusing on a tall, thin woman wearing the uniform of a Humani medical officer.

  “Paladin Martin?”

  “Yes,” she grumbled. “Where—” Another bolt of pain shot through her body.

  “We’ll get you some more meds,” assured the woman. “The regeneration process can be very painful.”

  Her clarity renewed by the pain radiating from her arm, Martin flashed back to her last memories. She went back to the realization that her planet’s elite were using her and the other inhabitants as pawns to maintain power and appease their Xen masters. After finding out the truth, she’d hunted down Tyler Stone, her former commander whom she had been tricked into believing was a traitor. Finding Stone and confirming his innocence, she agreed to return to Alpha Humana to help obtain access codes that would allow the Terillians to conduct undetected jumps through the Dark Zone and into Humani territory. The jump access would allow the Terillians to carry out a massive three-pronged attack against the Humani. If successful, the attacks would destroy the Gateway Station as well as ProConsul Astra Varus’s secret base on Dolus, where she was developing a genetic weapon and building a private army she planned to unleash on both her allies and enemies alike. And finally, the third prong of the attack was to attack Alpha Humana itself in an attempt to ignite an insurrection against ProConsul Astra Varus and the First Family Elites.

  “How long?” huffed Martin.

  “Ma’am?”

  “How long have I…have I been out?”

  “I don’t know exactly, Paladin,” replied the nurse. “But you’ve been here six standard weeks, and it took them a few weeks to get you home when they found you. What do you remember?”

  Martin paused before she answered. She remembered everything—the meeting on the Terillian ship and the plan for a simultaneous attack on the secret base at Dolus, the Gateway Station, and Alpha Humana itself. The searing pain in her left arm reminded her of the beating she took at the hands of her former commander’s lover, Terillian Major Mori Skye, in order to promote the lie that they had escaped; she even let that bitch cut off her hand just to sell the story.

  “The Traitor…” She knew Stone was no traitor, but she had to play her part. “He must have freed himself.” She shook her head, feigning frustration. “They tried to take the ship.”

  “How frightening,” gasped the nurse.

  Martin noticed a camera high on the wall over the nurse’s shoulder. She had an audience.

  “Did they get away?” asked the nurse.

  The woman in front of her may have actually been a nurse, but Martin recognized a well-planned interrogation when she saw one.

  “How should I fucking know?” shot back Martin. “I put a round into the Traitor after he took my fucking hand.” Martin grunted against the pain as she pushed her torso off the bed. Staring into the nurse’s eyes, she continued. “But at least two of them are dead,” she said, her gaze shifting from the nurse toward the camera. “If ProConsul Varus would like to know more, maybe she can come ask me herself.”

  “Excuse me?” asked the nurse, her face growing red.

  “Are you even a real nurse?” asked Martin.

  “That will be enough, Nurse Chan,” said another woman entering the room. She was older and wore the uniform of a Humani officer.

  Martin squinted, trying to read the name on her blouse, but the medication was still clouding her vision.

  “My name is Colonel Valaria Travarus, Paladin Martin,” said the woman. “I am your doctor.”

  “And you work for the ProConsul,” added Martin.

  “We all work for the ProConsul, Paladin,” retorted the colonel as she began to scan through Martin’s medical files.

  “Of course,” said Martin with a smile, “but I have a feeling your line of communication is a little more, uh, direct than others.”

  “As is yours, Paladin.”

  “Well, then perhaps maybe we should both speak with her,” said Martin. “Now.”

  “Soon, Paladin,” said the doctor, her face devoid of emotion. “And yes, you have been watched. After you were found in the escape pod and the debris of the transport was found nearby, there have been a lot of questions.”

  “Well if someone wants answers, maybe they should just ask me,” replied Martin. “Are you intelligence?”

  “No, Paladin. I’m the ProConsul’s personal physician.”

  “No shit,” replied Martin.

  “Uh, yes,” said Colonel Travarus, breaking her stoicism in reaction to Martin’s bluntness. “There are questions, but you have served the ProConsul with bravery and clearly sacrificed,” added the doctor as she glanced toward Martin’s left arm.

  “Can it be fixed?” asked Martin as she looked down at a large, metallic cylinder attached to her left forearm. It covered the area where her hand had once been.

  “Yes, Paladin. But the initial growth stage for a new appendage is very painful. That is why you were kept unconscious until now.”

  “How much longer until—”

  “Another month in the growth chamber, then two more getting strength and dexterity.”

  “I will get full strength back?”

  “You should, but we won’t know for sure until you have to start using it.”

  “Okay,” Martin replied as she exhaled and swung her legs off the side of the hospital bed. The movement sent pain racing again through her arm.

  “You shouldn’t move just yet,” replied Travarus. “The—”

  “There’s nothing wrong with my legs, right?” asked Martin as she pulled a medical tube from her arm.

  “Well, no,” answered Travarus, “but the pain will be almost unbearable without meds.”

  “Then give me a pill or an injection, but I need to be on my feet.”

  “Even if we give you an injection, if you’re conscious, you are going to hurt.”

  “I’m used to pain,” said Martin as she looked down to see a small pool of blood on the floor trickling from where her IV had been. “Can you put some coagulate on this before I bleed to death?”

  “Of course,” said Travarus, reaching for a small applicator. “You’ll heal faster if you rest,” she added as she applied the sticky gel to Martin’s arm.

  “If I rest, I get soft,” replied Martin. “And my mission isn’t finished.”

  “Well, that is between you and the ProConsul, Paladin Martin. But for now it is most definitely on pause.”

  “Hmm,” replied Martin. “I need to see the ProConsul.”

  “In due—”

  “Colonel,” interrupted Martin, “I want to see Ast
ra Varus today. And unless you think I am any less dangerous with only one arm, I suggest you get one of those Praetorians that I know are waiting outside that door and have them tell the ProConsul I will see her today.”

  ***

  Martin, with a Praetorian guard at each side, stood in the otherwise empty receiving chamber of ProConsul Astra Varus. Her arm pulsed with pain, but she wouldn’t let that stop her. She needed to look the ProConsul in the eyes and make sure her cover wasn’t blown. Astra was cautious—and ruthless; the sooner she could convince the ProConsul of her loyalty, the better.

  “So you let the Traitor get away,” said the Praetorian to her right.

  “Screw you,” she replied.

  “Pretty fucking convenient,” replied the other.

  Martin mechanically turned toward the second Praetorian.

  “Does this look fucking convenient?” she asked through her teeth, holding the regeneration canister on her hand to his face.

  The Praetorian returned her stare. “If you weren’t the ProConsul’s little pet project—”

  “You wanna dance, Praetorian?” she interrupted with a smile. “I don’t need both hands to—”

  “I see your attitude is still intact, Paladin Martin,” interrupted Astra Varus as she entered the room.

  Martin and the two Praetorians snapped to attention.

  Martin watched as the ProConsul strolled toward her chair. Just get there and sit down already, thought Martin.

  “So, Paladin,” mused Astra as she settled into her chair. “What is so important that it draws you out of recovery and me from…well, anything I was doing?” Astra leaned forward in her chair. Martin saw the ProConsul’s normal expressionless face transition, her rage barely contained behind a chiseled smile. “I would think after your utter failure on your last mission you might not want to see me, or even return to your people.”

  Martin took in deep breath. More than ever, the desire to drive her sword into Astra’s black heart burned at her. But she must play her part. “I did fail my people…failed you.” She almost choked on the words. “But I needed to report to you and request permission to go back after him as soon as I am able.”

  “None of which would be necessary if you had not failed me!” shouted Astra as she rose from the chair, her anger boiling over as she stepped toward Martin.

  “You are right,” replied Martin, still at attention.

  “Look at me!” shouted Astra. “Look at me so I can see the shame of failure in your eyes!”

  Martin shifted her gaze toward Astra, now only a meter from her. “As you wish, ProConsul.” She only hoped hatred would also pass for regret.

  Luckily, it did.

  “Well at least your failure has brought you a little humility,” said Astra, her expression less severe. “But tell me why I should give you another chance.”

  “There is no one…” Martin stepped toward Astra. “…no one on this planet that wants to see those who turned against our people brought to justice more than me,” she replied, returning Astra’s gaze. She could see Astra’s hatred for Stone radiating from her very being. “And there is no one else with the skill to do it.”

  She stared at Astra, trying to glean some inkling as to the ProConsul’s thoughts.

  “Well, Paladin,” replied Astra, “there are questions about what happened.”

  “And I have the answers.”

  “Very well, then,” said Astra as she turned and ascended the steps to her chair. “Enlighten me,” she added.

  “The Traitor must have broken free of his bindings and let the others loose—”

  “Who were the others?”

  “There was a smuggler pilot and what I can assume was an engineer…and this other Ter…” Martin paused. She needed to convince Astra she knew nothing, but wanted to see the ProConsul sweat a little. “She looked similar to the bulletins on the Traitor’s whore but was different. Her features…almost reminded me of a wolf, but very muted. It was like nothing—”

  “A wolf?” asked Astra, her posture stiffening in her chair. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, ProConsul,” replied Martin. “Almost like she had been genetically altered.” She could see the apprehension on Astra’s face. Now it was time to set the hook. “Looks like the Ters are experimenting with genetic hybrids.”

  Astra’s expression eased. “Very interesting, Paladin,” said the ProConsul. “You will need to pass this information onto Colonel Travarus so she can look into it.”

  “Shouldn’t I speak with Intelligence?”

  “No,” shot back Astra. “That would be premature…the Colonel works directly for me and will inform the necessary people in Intelligence, if it is warranted.”

  “Of course, ProConsul.” That was fun, thought Martin.

  “Now back to your failed mission,” said Astra.

  Martin had hoped the little hint at her secret plans of genetic alteration had thrown Astra off her game. It didn’t.

  “Yes, ProConsul,” she replied. “He must have let the others free. The damned engineer made it to the engine room and knocked us out of the jump sequence. From there it was four against one, which wouldn’t have been a problem, except one of them was Stone.”

  “So you said in the hospital room you injured the Traitor?” asked Astra.

  Martin knew she had been listening.

  “The pilot and the engineer were no problem. And then I found Stone.” She was making it all up, transferring her anger toward Astra and the First Families into her story. “We were fighting and then the other one, the altered one, hit me from behind. She distracted me, and the Traitor took my hand. I grabbed the woman’s pistol as I fell and put a round into his torso. After that, I retreated to deal with my wound. I went after him again, but he and the woman jettisoned their escape pods. I was on my way to the cockpit to run them down when I noticed they had rigged the ship to blow.” She let the hatred for Astra Varus and all like her flow through her, peaking her emotional response as she continued. “I had no choice but to evacuate the ship.”

  “Hmm,” replied Astra to Martin’s emotional report.

  Martin glared at Astra, waiting for either acceptance or death. She was prepared for either.

  “While it vexes me that you allowed him to escape,” continued Astra, “your weapons were inventoried when you were rescued and your blade was found to have Terillian blood on it.”

  “All of my blades have Terillian blood on them,” said Martin dryly. “But they haven’t been soaked with the blood of the Traitor, or his whore,” added Martin. “That’s why I have come to ask to continue my hunt and to pick a team to assist me.”

  “You are asking for help?” asked Astra, her head tilted slightly. “How very unlike you.”

  “I can handle Stone, but if he’s surrounded by Rangers, I’ll need people to keep them busy.”

  “And how many will you need?”

  “Their skill is more important than the number, ProConsul,” replied Martin. “I request permission to interview candidates from all services, regardless of family status, to find my team.” She turned toward the Praetorian to her left. “Including your Praetorians. Once they are chosen, we will leave as soon as I am ready.”

  “What if the Traitor just disappears in the time it will take you to heal? Why should I wait for you?”

  “Tyler Stone will not simply disappear,” laughed Martin. “We will hear of him, and when I’m ready, I will find him…and I will kill him.” She stepped toward Astra. “And you can send as many people as you want after him.” She smiled. “Because no one else can take him.”

  Chapter 2

  “We’ve got to be faster,” said Major, and honored Ka-itsenko, Mori Skye to her company commanders, her fierce green eyes betraying her frustration. “It took twelve minutes to make it from the breach to the control room. That’s too slow.”

  Tyler Stone, now fluent in the Akota language, stepped forward. In the three standard months since they laid the initial plan for t
he attack on Alpha Humana, the Akota had taken the time and effort to build near full-size mockups of a Humani orbital destroyer and battlecruiser as trainers on the Akota home planet of Luta-tunkan. The ship mockups were only one of the many preparations for the massive attacks. If Martin was successful in her clandestine mission to alert First Family leaders who were resistant to the rule of Astra Varus and her Xennite masters, the invasion could spark a revolt and return control of Alpha Humana to the people instead of the oligarchy of First Families.

  “Due to the heavier armor of Humani orbital destroyers near the engineering and weapons spaces, the closest boarding location to the reactor control room is the crew compartment. We need to be able to lock in, breach, and fight our way to the control room before the ship security forces or engineering realize our objective,” said Stone.

  “We have a great opportunity here thanks to Rickover’s little invention and Magakisca’s knowledge of Humani ship layouts,” said Mori, using Stone’s Akota name. “During the attack on Alpha Humana, the Scout Rangers assigned to Task Force Eagle will board as many orbital destroyers as we can. We will follow a diversionary force of regular forces which will attempt to board near the hangar bay locations. Once they are engaged and distracting the ship’s security forces, we’ll breach and get to the reactor control room as fast as we can.”

  “Once we’re in, we access the control room itself and find the panels marked ‘Master Protection System.’ Each platoon will have ten of these little electronic boxes,” said Stone, holding Rickover’s invention in the air. “Just attach this box to the panel and flip this switch. The circuitry inside should override the signals in the Master Protection System and force the reactor to shut down.”

  “Are we sure this will actually work?” asked one of the company commanders.

  Stone knew that when it came to engineering, Rickover didn’t make mistakes. “It will work.”

  “Each platoon will be assigned a Humani orbital destroyer when the battle starts. Once the breach is made, two squads will move to the forward reactors and two will move aft,” said Mori. “If we shut enough reactors down, we will prevent them from being able to bombard our landing zones on Alpha Humana from orbit. We might even be able to take down their propulsion and self-defense systems.”